New Delhi: Polling concluded for the Assembly by-polls for 13 constituencies across seven states - Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday.
The polling process started at 7 am and concluded at 6 pm. Assembly by-polls were held in West Bengal's Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.
After the high-stakes Lok Sabha Polls, this is the second major electoral battle between the NDA and INDIA bloc. Vacancies in these Assembly segments were created either due to the deaths or the resignations of the MLAs. The contest for the Jalandhar West seat in Punjab and the Rupali seat in Bihar had become quite significant.
In Punjab, where Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has rented a house in Jalandhar and set up a temporary residence for the by-election, the Rupali seat in Bihar is witnessing a direct contest between JD(U) and RJD amid changed equations after Nitish Kumar’s coalition with the NDA.
Around 58 per cent of votes were polled in the Rupali constituency amid sporadic violence. In Vikravandi seat in Tamil Nadu, around 82.48 per cent of votes were polled. The voter turnout was as follows in Himachal Pradesh - Dehra (63.89 per cent), Hamirpur (65.78 per cent), and Nalagarh (78.82 per cent).
51.30 per cent of votes were polled in Jalandhar West while the Amarwara seat in Madhya Pradesh saw a voter turnout of 78.71 per cent. In Uttarakhand, the voter turnout was - Manglaur (68.24 per cent), and Badrinath (49.80 per cent).
Former Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari, now with the BJP, is contesting from Badrinath against Congress' Lakhpat Butolat. In Manglaur, the Congress has fielded senior leader Qazi Nizamuddin against the BJP's Kartar Singh Bhadana.
In West Bengal, the BJP and the ruling TMC are contesting all four assembly seats. Three of these constituencies were won by the BJP in 2021 but were vacated due to defections to the TMC. The fourth seat, Maniktala, fell vacant following the death of sitting TMC MLA Sadhan Pandey.
The polling percentage in West Bengal was - Bagda (65.15 per cent), Raiganj (67.12 per cent), Maniktala (51.39 per cent) and Ranaghat Dakshin (65.37 per cent). The vote counting will take place on July 13.
